[05/21/08 - 01:32 PM]Bravo Expands Production and Development Teams Among the promotions: Andy Cohen has been upped to Senior Vice President, Original Programming and Development.

[via press release from Bravo]

BRAVO EXPANDS PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT TEAMS

Andy Cohen Appointed Senior Vice President, Original Programming And Development

Shari Levine To Head Production, Cori Abraham To Head Development

Christian Barcellos And Eli Lehrer Upped To Vice President and Jenn Levy Joins The Development Team

NEW YORK � May 21, 2008 � On the heels of announcing an impressive 45 percent increase in network programming, including a robust slate of twelve returning series and four new programs, Bravo announced today the expansion of the network's production and development teams. Andy Cohen has been upped to Senior Vice President, Original Programming and Development. Shari Levine will now head up production for the network, while Cori Abraham leads the development team. Christian Barcellos has been promoted to Vice President, Production, and Eli Lehrer has been named Vice President, Development and Production. In addition, Jennifer Levy joins the team as Director, Development and Production. The announcements were made today by Frances Berwick, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Bravo Media.

"With 16 original franchise series that have delivered over a million viewers in the past year and a half, Bravo's track record in original programming and development speaks for itself," said Berwick. "I'm incredibly proud to recognize these individuals, each of whom has made tremendous contributions in driving the network's historic growth and making Bravo the fastest growing top 20 cable entertainment network in adults 18-49."

In addition to overseeing the network's production team, Andy Cohen adds oversight of Bravo's development and will continue to manage the network's aggressive slate of current unscripted series and specials, as well as the network's current production slate, including the hit Emmy-winning series "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," Emmy Award-nominee "Top Chef," and Peabody Award winner "Project Runway." In addition, Cohen writes "Andy's Blog," a daily blog at BravoTV.com about pop culture, television, media, and his daily life, and hosts "Watch What Happens" specials on-air and online. He has been nominated for five Emmy Awards as Executive Producer of "Project Greenlight," "Project Runway," "Queer Eye" and "Top Chef." Prior to working for Bravo, Cohen served as Vice President of Original Programming for TRIO, where he was responsible for developing and supervising all of TRIO's original productions including the critically acclaimed original documentaries "Gay Republicans," "Brilliant, but Cancelled," and the Peabody Award-winning "The N Word." Prior to working for TRIO, Cohen also worked as a Senior Producer for CBS News' "The Early Show" where he oversaw the production of entertainment segments. Before that, Cohen was a producer for "48 Hours" and for "CBS This Morning." Cohen has a B.A. in broadcast journalism from Boston University.

"Since he joined Bravo in 2004, Andy has made an indelible mark on the network, bringing an amazing creativity and passion to everything from executive producing our originals, to his daily must-read blog, and numerous TV and online hosting duties," said Berwick. "He is the ultimate multi-skilled executive."

In her new role, Shari Levine will oversee the network's East and West Coast Production teams as Vice President of Original Programming, reporting into Cohen. Levine will continue to be responsible for the production of Bravo's hit creative competition series "Project Runway," "Shear Genius," and "Make Me A Supermodel" as well as the popular docu-series "The Real Housewives of Orange County," and "Million Dollar Listing." Prior to Bravo, Levine worked as a Senior Producer at NBC News and produced the CNBC program "In Profile." She previously worked as a segment producer for the CBS News programs, "Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel," "Eye to Eye with Connie Chung," and "Smithsonian Fantastic Journey Specials." Early in her career, Levine worked as a segment producer at ABC News on programs and specials including the Barbara Walters special "The Perfect Baby," and the Peter Jennings specials "Answering Children's Questions," and the Emmy Award-winning town hall "Abortion Forum." Levine has a B.A. in Journalism from New York University.

As Vice President, Development, Cori Abraham will oversee Bravo's East and West Coast development teams, reporting into Cohen. She will be responsible for all of the network's development, including over 30 pilots, casting and presentation reels and oversight of many first cycle series, among them the upcoming "Date My Ex: Jo & Slade." Abraham joined Bravo in 2004 and developed and produced a number of series and specials including the Emmy-winning "Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List," the popular series "Work Out," and Bravo's string of "Funny Girl" stand-up specials with Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, Joan Rivers, Caroline Rhea and Paula Poundstone, as well as the much-talked-about series "Hey Paula." Prior to joining Bravo, Abraham was Director of Development and Executive Producer at VH1, where she oversaw creative and production logistics and evaluated program pitches. Her VH1 credits include the series "Totally Obsessed" and "True Spin," as well as the specials " Driven Presents: Stage Moms," and "Bootcamp: Showgirls." Abraham also served as Director of Comedy Development at FX. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin with two bachelor's degrees in Communications Arts and Theatre Arts.

As Vice President, Production, Christian Barcellos will continue to oversee the production of Bravo's hit series "The Real Housewives of New York City," "Flipping Out," "Work Out," "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style," the 13 time Emmy-nominated series "Inside the Actors Studio" and the upcoming "The Rachel Zoe Project" and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." Barcellos will report to Levine. Barcellos previously served as Director, Production and Executive Producer on the breakout Bravo series "Queer Eye" and on a number of Bravo specials including "Moving Image Salutes Will Smith," "Lovesick � A Cirque Du Soleil Film," "100 Funniest Movies" and "Even Scarier Movie Moments." Barcellos has won two Emmy Awards � for Outstanding Reality Program for "Queer Eye" and for Outstanding Non-Fiction Program for "Cirque Du Soleil: Fire Within." Prior to Bravo, Barcellos worked at Rainbow Media, where he served as Director of Program Packaging and Production and worked on IFP Gotham Awards from 2000-2003 and executive produced the Network Package of the IFC Brand re-design. He also worked in On-Air promotions at Rainbow Media from 1995 to 1999. Barcellos has a BFA from University of South California � School of Cinema and Television.

As Vice President, Development and Production, Eli Lehrer will continue to develop and executive produce Bravo's hit series. In his new role, Lehrer will be responsible for the development of original programming on the East Coast, reporting into Abraham, and will also oversee a number of pilots and series as an executive producer. Lehrer, who was upped from Director, Development and Production, developed some of the network's most buzzed about programming including "Flipping Out," "The Real Housewives of New York City," and "The Millionaire Matchmaker," and "Make Me A Supermodel" � both of which he also executive produced. He also developed the upcoming series "The Rachel Zoe Project" and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." Lehrer joined Bravo from VH1 where he held the position of Manager, East Coast Development. He helped oversee the production of specials and series, including "Driven Presents: Stage Moms," "I Married," "True Spin," "Totally Obsessed" and "Fortune Files." Prior to VH1, Lehrer held posts as the Executive Assistant to Michael Ovitz at Artists Management Group and as Executive Assistant to George Stephanopoulos at ABC News. Lehrer has a B.A. in American History from Columbia University.

Jenn Levy joins Bravo as Director of Development and Production reporting into Abraham and Levine. In her position, Levy will be responsible for executive producing multiple pilots and current series including new seasons of "Shear Genius," the Emmy Award-winning "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," and the upcoming "Date My Ex: Jo & Slade." Levy began her career at VH1 as a Production and Development Associate and worked her way up through the years to become Director, Series in Development for VH1. Before leaving, Levy developed and produced "The Cho Show," "Viva Hollywood," and "What Perez Sez." She has a B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts from California State University Northridge.

Source: Nielsen Media Research, Live + 7 through 5/4/08 blended with Live + SD through 5/18/08: Fastest growing story: 2Q08 vs. 2Q07: Live + 7 through 5/4/08 blended with Live + SD through 5/18/08, Mon-Sun 8P-11P, includes ad supported cable entertainment networks that air in more than 50 percent of the Prime daypart.

Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBC cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com.